BODYCARE

Cortisol levels rose after the workout was completed, as they would with any type of strenuous workout. And even an hour after the workout was over, cortisol levels were still higher than baseline. But after 24 hours cortisol levels had not just returned to normal – they actually dropped just a tiny bit. The researchers pointed out that this means the workout “does not pose an immediate recovery problem in terms of circulating hormone concentrations.”